You are here:

Discusses how to stay active even while traveling. Offers packing tips, such as taking exercise equipment. Also suggests ways to exercise at the airport (walking laps in the terminal). Also offers ideas for exercises you can do while in a motel/hotel.

Quick Tips: Staying Active When You Travel

Get started

To stay active and healthy, you need to find ways
to make physical activity part of your daily routine. But when you travel
because of work or for other reasons, you lose that routine. Fitting in your
exercise habits can be hard.

But as with so many things, a little
planning can go a long way toward helping you keep your healthy habits on
track. Try these tips to keep your physical activity going when you
travel:

Preparing for your trip

Take the time to think about your trip and how
your routine will be affected. Identify the barriers that might keep you from
your regular physical activity, such as long meetings, a busy schedule, or
weather extremes. Plan ahead on how you will get around those
barriers.

Try to find a hotel that has an exercise room, exercise
DVDs, or a swimming pool. Or look for one that is close to a park, walking
trails, or a gym.

Pack items that will help you exercise, such as:

Exercise clothing, including a swimsuit or
your walking/running shoes. Remember that exercise clothes made of synthetic
fabrics will dry faster—an important thing to think about when you're living
out of a suitcase.

A jump rope or resistance band, either of which
will fit easily into a suitcase.

Anything else you routinely use
for exercise, like an MP3 player, a radio, or your favorite exercise
DVD.

Get walking maps of your destination city, and
look forward to seeing some sights on foot.

Schedule exercise time
on your daily calendar.

At the airport

Walk laps around the airport terminal. It's a
good way to pass the time while you're waiting for your flight.

If
you have a long layover, find a gym close to the airport so you can work out
between flights.

On your trip

Use the hotel workout room or swimming pool, if
available. If your hotel doesn't have a workout room, find a nearby gym. Use a
website, such as HealthClubs.com, to see if your local gym has a branch in
your destination city.

You may be more likely to exercise if you do
it first thing in the morning.

Wear a pedometer to motivate you to
add steps throughout your day.

A hotel concierge can be a great
source of information about local parks and walking/running
trails.

For meals, walk to local restaurants instead of
driving.

If the hotel is large, turn its hallways and staircases
into a "track," and do "laps."

The Internet is full of advice for
exercises you can do in your hotel room, for beginners as well as exercise
experts. You can also jump rope or run in place. If that's too boring, do it
while you watch TV in the morning or evening.

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use.
How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.